SUSPECTS allegedly involved in a rip-off in which more than 118 Kilogrammes of gold was sold at a give-away price are expected to appear in court today on charges of abuse of authority of office, among others.

Inspector-General of Police Martin Malama said at a Press briefing yesterday that the police had handed over the matter to the courts of law for prosecution so that justice could prevail. Dr Malama said all those linked to the scam would appear in court today and advised members of the public, particularly political party cadres to realise that the investigations were not meant to persecute people but rather to ensure that justice was upheld.

“We call on cadres and other ordinary Zambians to realise that this is not a political fight but a criminal case which needs to be taken to the courts of law,” he said. Dr Malama disclosed that the gold scam case would be the first, among many others, that would be taken to court.

He said that the Zambia Police Service would work with the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) in the fight against corruption and warned that the three agencies would not condone the vice in whatever form it came. “Zambia is on the way to development and so we will not condone people robbing the nation. Corruption is a cancer which will affect even our children if we condone it. We want Zambia to be a country we will proudly hand over to our children and grandchildren,” he said.

Dr Malama said that corruption would also be fought even within and outside the ranks of the police, ACC and the DEC so that Zambia could develop. He urged Zambians to report all forms of corruption to law-enforcement agencies. Prominent among those that have been linked to the sale of the gold are immediate past president Rupiah Banda’s son, James, Press aide to the former president, Dickson Jere, former secretary to the treasury, Likolo Ndalamei, former DEC commissioner, Aaron Zulu however a Swiss national, Nicolae Buzaianu has been cleared of all accusations.

He commended Zambians for giving the police time to investigate the case and ensuring that investigations were not jeopardised.?The gold was forfeited to the State in 2007 after it was seized from two Zimbabwean nationals by the DEC. It is alleged that the said gold was later sold, around July this year, at a give-away price of about K19 billion.

Dr Malama said the Zambia Police Service would also take the corruption fight to its traffic section so that it could stop the exchange of money at checkpoints. “In the next few weeks, we will not allow corruption even in our ranks. If anyone is caught in corrupt practices, the one giving the money and the one receiving the money will both be held,” Dr Malama said.

Meanwhile, Dr Malama disclosed that the police would also investigate reports of pornography at the Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies (ZCAS) in Lusaka where students were allegedly filming each other and producing various pornographic materials. “I am glad that I am with DEC officials here, we will look at that case as well and investigate it,” he said.